Kenya’s former 400m hurdles world champion Nicholas Bett has died in a road accident, aged 28, the country’s Ministry of Sports and Heritage said yesterday. Bett died in a road accident near the town of Lessos, in Nandi County , Kenya, in the early morning of 8 August 2018. He had arrived back from the 2018 African Championships in Athletics in Nigeria two days earlier, and was driving along the Kapsabet to Eldoret road on his way back to Nairobi. According to the local police commander, Bett lost control of his car, a Toyota Prado SUV, which then hit a bump in the road and landed in a ditch, killing the athlete on the spot.
“Former 400m hurdles World Champion Nicholas Bett has died in a road accident… On behalf of the sporting fraternity and @moscakenya, I convey my sincerest condolences to his family. Rest in peace,” Kenya sports cabinet secretary Rashid Echesa said on Twitter.
The Ministry of Sports and Heritage later retweeted the message from their official handle. Athletics Kenya also confirmed the news, reports Reuters.
Bett won the 400m hurdles at the 2015 world championships in Beijing to give Kenya their first gold medal at a distance shorter than 800m.
His twin brother Haron Koech is also a hurdler.

RIP